Grieving Cowboys get win over Bengals

COWBOYS 20, BENGALS 19

Updated 11:50 pm, Sunday, December 9, 2012

Dan Bailey's 40-yard field goal as time expired won the game for the Cowboys.

Dan Bailey's 40-yard field goal as time expired won the game for the Cowboys.

Photo: John Grieshop, Getty Images

Grieving Cowboys get win over Bengals

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CINCINNATI --

Numb. Grieving. Distracted. The Cowboys were all those things Sunday, dealing with the death of one teammate and the tribulations of another.

Winners, too, though they hardly felt like it.

Dan Bailey kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Cowboys to a 20-19 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that ended a tough afternoon with a little bit of relief and their playoff chances enhanced.

Didn't last long, though. There will be a lot more emotional days ahead in Dallas.

The Cowboys overcame a nine-point deficit in the closing minutes behind Romo, who held his hand over his heart during a moment of silence to honor teammate Jerry Brown before the kickoff. The linebacker died in an auto accident early Saturday.

Defensive lineman Josh Brent, who was driving, was still jailed in Texas on Sunday, charged with intoxication manslaughter.

The Cowboys learned about Brown's death on their flight to Cincinnati on Saturday. Head coach Jason Garrett told his team that the best way to honor him was to play well in a game with playoff implications for both teams.

One of the visitors' metal lockers at Paul Brown Stadium had a strip of white athletic tape with "53 JERRY BROWN" attached to the top, a wooden stool inside sitting upside-down. Brown's No. 53 jersey was on the sideline during the game - defensive tackle Jason Hatcher held it up after Bailey's kick decided it.

It wasn't much of a celebration by an emotionally spent team.

"I don't remember crying this much other than maybe the day I was born," defensive lineman Marcus Spears said. "With Josh's situation and Jerry being gone, you felt it."

Players couldn't keep the tragedy out of their thoughts during the game, finding their minds wandering on the bench.

"The last 24 hours has really been something I've never experienced," Romo said. "It's something I've never experienced, and I think a lot of guys will tell you that. It's just been a roller coaster of emotions.

"It was a very - and still is - a very difficult thing that this football team is dealing with."

The Cowboys salvaged the game by scoring on their last two drives against the Bengals, who had won four in a row and had a chance to move into position for an AFC wild-card berth with a victory.

Romo threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant with 6:35 to go. Anthony Spencer's sack of Andy Dalton forced a punt, and Romo completed four passes on the drive to Bailey's winning kick.

Romo finished 25-for-43 for 268 yards with a touchdown, an interception and three sacks.